Show Me How To Live
by TheIntergalactic
Summary: Loosely based on the the Aqua/Magma plot of R/S/E, just with my own little spins to it. Set in a darker world of Pokemon. OCs. Rated M for violence, language, and darkish themes.
1. First Time For Everything

First Time For Everything

Ron sleepily opened his eyes. The sun streamed down to hit his tired eyes. He was rubbing them to get the sleep out when he suddenly remembered the significance of the day. He was 16!

He leapt out of bed and got dressed quickly. He put on his dad's old Slateport Police Force shirt and a pair of faded jeans, and quickly ran downstairs. His mother and step-dad were sitting at the kitchen table, with great big grins on their faces.

"Happy birthday sweetie!" His mother squealed. Grinning, she ran forward and squeezed Ron tight.

"Ugh, Mom! C'mon!" Ron said, with a joking tone of exasperation. She released him quickly, still grinning. His step-dad was next, giving him a firm handshake and then a bear hug.

"Happy birthday, Ron. Your mother and I are so proud of you." Ron smiled at his step-dad, and then addressed both of them.

"Thanks for the happy birthday, you guys! I appreciate it." His mom and step-dad shared knowing glances, and then his step-dad spoke up.

"And… Don't forget what I promised you two years ago…" Ron couldn't forget. His step-dad, Douglas, promised that he would take him to the shelter to adopt his very own Pokemon.

"How could I forget!? When do you want to get going?" Ron asked.

"Whenever you want to."

"How about… right now?" Then his mom suddenly spoke up

"Not without you eating some breakfast first!"

So, within ten minutes, Ron and Douglas were walking on their way towards downtown Petalburg. They lived east of it, in a little town called Oldale Town. The journey to Petalburg was about half a day's walk, so they had to get started early. The first portion was spent in a comfortable silence, each to his own thoughts.

Ron's eyes constantly wandered, and they soon drifted down to Douglas's belt. He had two Pokemon balls clipped to his belt. Ron was a bit surprised at that. He knew Douglas was once a Ranger for Ever Grande, but he didn't know he still had Pokemon.

"Hey Douglas?" Douglas looked at Ron.

"Yeah? What's up?" Ron gestured towards the PokeBalls.

"Why do you have the Pokemon?" Douglas's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Oh, nothing. Just… there have been reports of bandit attacks along the road between Petalburg and Oldale. Just brought them to make sure." Ron thought he was being dismissive, but didn't press the subject anymore.

About 5 hours later, they finally reached Petalburg. Ron's stomach growled like nothing else, and so did Douglas's.

"How about we get some lunch, eh Ron?" Ron nodded, to hungry to speak.

They quickly found a small restaurant, and were soon gorging themselves on Magikarp patties and salads. Ron was too busy concentrating on his food to notice, but three shady characters entered the joint after them, and found a table across the restaurant from them. Douglas didn't fail to notice though, and kept his eye on them.

They stole quick glances at the pair, but didn't stay for long. They got up after five minutes and left. Douglas's eyes followed them out.

Eventually, the pair stopped eating, and went to go find the Pokemon adoption center. They found it, and in they went.

Ron's eyes were all over the place, staring at all the different kinds of Pokemon. Dozens of species, ranging from Machops to Rattatas to Zigzagoons to Poochyenas to Skittys to Roselias, and even a massive tank of water with several Magikarps and Tentacools.

The two went to find an employee. The employee greeted them with a warm smile and a happy face.

"Hello! Welcome to the Official Pokemon League Adoption center! My name is James, and what can I do ya for?" Ron quickly blurted out

"I'm looking for my first Pokemon!"

"Well! Lots of enthusiasm! What type of Pokemon are you looking for?" Ron thought about it for a second, then responded

"A fire type. I've always wanted a fire type." James nodded, and motioned for them to follow him.

"Right this way sirs. I'll show you to the fire types." As they went to the fire type section, Ron noticed that none of the fire types were out of their PokeBalls. He inquired to James as to why that was like that.

"Because! All of our Pokemon are young, and young fire types don't know how to properly control their fire yet. As they get older, they instinctively learn, but the first few months or so of their lives they really don't know how to properly control it. It's a big responsibility to control fire types." Ron nodded enthusiastically.

"I know! And I'm ready." He walked up and down the isles, scanning for the proper fire type. "Magby…. Slugma…. Numel…. Vulpix…" Ron muttered to himself. He didn't see any that he really wanted, until he spotted it. The one Pokemon that was his dream to have and train.

"This one!" James looked at it, and his eyebrow shot up in surprise.

"Are you sure?" Ron nodded, and James looked at Douglas. "Do you think he is capable?" Douglas nodded as well, with a certain glint in his eye.

"I think he's more than capable." He whispered.

"Alright then."

Two hours later, Douglas and Ron were walking back home, with 700 less PokeDollars in Douglas's pocket, and Ron having spent his entire allowance. Ron was ecstatic at his new Pokemon. He had read up on the entire evolutionary line, he had seen them in videos, even seen them in person, and even touched one before! It was his greatest dream to own these Pokemon.

As Ron was practically bouncing home from excitement, Douglas couldn't be as excited as him. He knew something was wrong; he could feel it in the air. His hand casually drifted towards the PokeBalls on his belt. On the outside, he looked loose, but on the inside he was tensed and coiled, ready to strike.

Eventually, after about another hour of walking, Ron finally calmed down enough to notice that Douglas was nervous about his surroundings. Ron also didn't fail to notice that he had a PokeBall in his hand, but he didn't press it.

Within the hour, they were close enough to Oldale to see it in the distance, slightly downhill from them. The large path had been carved out of the forest generations ago, when Rustboro City sent envoys to start new settlements, Petalburg being the biggest, with Oldale and Littleroot not growing any larger than small towns of a few thousand.

"There it is! Home!" Ron said. "I can't wait to show Mom and my friends my new Pokemon!" Douglas merely nodded in agreement, still wary of his surroundings. He was a Pokemon Ranger for the Hoenn Pokemon League for 12 years, and had seen a lot of action with them. But he had retired, and he had lost the edge. However, he still had his instincts, and they told him that something was about to go down.

They were about three miles away from Oldale, when it suddenly happened. Douglas noticed a flurry of motion in the trees to their right, and loosed his two Pokemon as a pack of Mightyena burst from the trees.

"Ron! Run!" Ron stood still with shock as the powerful wolf Pokemon bared down on the pair. Suddenly, a Vigorath and a Manectric leapt in front of Ron, growling and snapping at the threat. In the trees, there were three shadowy figures, watching and waiting.

Douglas grabbed Ron, and shook him. "RUN! RUN HOME!" Ron snapped out of his shock and nodded. He turned towards home and started running home as fast as he could. He spared a glance backwards, and saw the Pokemon start to engage each other, biting and clawing at each other, with the Manectric letting out spurts of sparks on occasion, all while Douglas directed his Pokemon.

Ron staggered into the limits of Oldale, gasping for breath. It was the fastest he had ever run in his life, and he wasn't used to that. As he walked slowly into town, people started to gather around him, asking him questions as to why he sprinted home, and where was Douglas? Ron didn't have the breath to answer the questions, and merely gestured towards the road, before collapsing out of tiredness.

He came to a little while later, in a bed in the PokeCenter. A crowd of worried people was gathered around the bed. People like his mom, and his neighbors Jack and Lauren. He also noticed the town Mayor, and the mayor's ever present bodyguard. The bodyguard was a tough SOB, who was a former Police Officer in Mossdeep, and mercenary for merchant ships. Lots of pirates around the Orange Islands.

"Ron! Are you alright?" His mom asked frantically. Ron nodded weakly, and looked around the room. He found what he was looking for, and started gulping down the water on his bedside table. When his thirst was sated, he croaked out

"We were attacked." The mayor asked

"By who? What?"

"I don't know who, but three of them. They had several Mightyena. Douglas was fighting them with his Pokemon." The bodyguard nodded.

"Douglas's tough. He'll be alright against some Mightyena." Ron's mom nodded as well, but she had some tears in her eyes. Jack inquired towards Ron

"Why did you have to run back?" Ron shrugged.

"Douglas told me too. I don't know why. I could've helped…" Lauren opened her mouth to ask a question, but before she could, the building shook with a resounding boom. Everybody screamed and ducked down, except for the bodyguard. He sprung into action, shielding the mayor. When it stopped, he grabbed two PokeBalls and ran out of the room, shouting for everyone to stay put. Ron couldn't though. He leapt from his bed, grabbed his bag and his PokeBall, and followed him. Jack and Lauren shared a glance, and then followed him too.


	2. A Journey of a Thousand Miles

A Journey of a Thousand Miles…

When the small band of teenagers got outside, what awaited them was chaos. Most of the PokeCenter was on fire, and so were most of the buildings as well. They saw several bodies lying on the ground, blood pooled around them. The bodyguard was in the distance, directing a Tauros and a large Aggron in combat, against a Seviper and several Mightyenas. Ron's hand snapped down to his PokeBall, but before he could throw it, a Mightyena tackled him out of nowhere. The large wolf crashed into Ron with immense force, and brought the both of them towards the ground.

The Pokemon tried to close its jaws around Ron's neck, but he threw his right arm up just in time. The wolf clamped down on Ron's arm and savagely bit it. Ron screamed in pain, and searched around for his friends. However, they were distracted with several Poochyena, and didn't notice Ron in his predicament.

Ron looked back at the Mightyena with fire in his eyes, determined to win. He clawed at the Pokemon's eyes with his left arm, and finally found an eye. He dug his thumb into it, causing the wolf to yelp in pain. It scampered off Ron, one eye screwed shut. Ron quickly stood up, and faced off with the wolf, ignoring the pain in his arm. The Mightyena snarled, and charged at Ron. This time, however, he was ready. He quickly sidestepped the Pokemon's charge, and as it stopped suddenly to readjust, he launched himself at it, wrapping his arm around its neck. The Mightyena snarled, and tried to wiggle its way out of Ron's grip, but the adrenaline helped him hold on tight. With one arm he had a front headlock on the Pokemon, and the other was constantly punching the wolf in the face.

The Mightyena finally got free of Ron's grip, and launched at Ron. He quickly ducked and spun, and as the Mightyena soared over him and landed, he leapt on the wolf's back. He wrapped an arm around its neck, and squeezed.

The Pokemon's struggles got softer and softer, while Ron's arm got tighter and tighter. Eventually, the wolf stopped moving and trying to breath. Ron got up, gasping and looking around at the battle. The townspeople had organized a defense against the raiders, and were slowly driving them back, with Douglas at the lead. Ron couldn't help but notice a dozen of the fighters wearing the uniform of the Ever Grande League.

Ron ran towards the melee, throwing his PokeBall as he went.

"Go! Charmander!" The PokeBall let loose a flash of white light, and the light molded into the shape of the small lizard. It blinked a few Douglases, and looked around. Ron ran up to it.

"Hey! Charmander!" The Charmander looked up at Ron with confused eyes. "Hey! See those guys over there?" The Charmander looked at the men the townspeople were fighting, wearing dark blue uniforms. "Go get those guys! Alright?" The Charmander nodded enthusiastically, and ran towards the melee, spouting small gouts of fire at the bad guys.

Three days later, the fires were extinguished and the wounds were dressed, but the scars of the battle were still there. Almost every building in the town was affected by the fighting, and there were many buildings. Some, like the PokeMart, were completely destroyed. Some, like the buildings on the outskirts, only had some broken windows. But to everyone, the events of that night were still fresh.

The Ever Grande League responded quickly, sending in several dozen Rangers to help contain the situation and try and track the raiders. The townspeople and the Rangers on scene during the attack killed 7 of them, but there were at least 20 more that fled the battle.

Ron walked around the site of the battle, a fresh bandage on his arm. He saw Lauren talking to a Ranger, and walked towards the two.

As he walked towards them, he caught the tail end of their conversation

"-and if what are you guys going to do?"

"We're going to find them and bring them to justice. Simple as that. Now, if you'd excuse me, I need to attend to something." The Ranger briskly walked away. He had an air of authority about him that Ron didn't fail to notice.

"Hey Lauren!" She turned around at her name, and gave Ron a half smile when she saw him. "How are you?" He asked.

"I'm… I'm okay." She sighed. "Just… I don't understand why it happened! What did they want with us?" Ron shrugged.

"I don't know. I couldn't tell you…." He trailed off, and the two looked at the town. They were standing in Downtown, at the edge of the square in the middle of town. The Rangers has set up a camp in the middle of the square, with at least 30 Rangers there. Ron was impressed by their efficiency. Even so, every hour or so, Rangers were flying back and forth on their mounts, looking important and busy. Lauren looked back at Ron.

"How's your arm?" Ron looked down at his arm. The bandage was still clean, but not fresh any more. He shrugged.

"It's alright. The medic said it could take up to three weeks to properly heal. Fortunately, the Mightyena only bit down, and didn't tear my flesh. Still, it's a deep wound…. Ah well." He shrugged. The two stood in silence again, looking out at the scene. Ron's Charmander, which he had since named Zippo, was wandering around, acclimating himself with the people and the other Pokemon. Lauren had released her Cyndaquil, Cinder, and the pair was getting along quite nicely. Jack had his Treecko, Xylem, out, and he was helping the Rangers keep an eye out for any other threats.

"Hey!" Ron and Lauren turned around at the noise. A Ranger approached them. "Commander Zane says you two are to report to him ASAP." The pair looked at each other, and nodded.

"Where is he?" Ron asked. The Ranger pointed to the command tent. Ron nodded, and the two started towards it.

"What do you think he wants us for?" Lauren asked Ron. Ron simply shrugged and kept walking. The passed their Pokemon, and the two fiery Pokemon followed them, confused as to why they were walking that way.

When the small band got to the tent, they found Commander Zane and Douglas in the tent, looking over several sheets of paper, engrossed in them. Jack was there also, standing to the side, looking as confused as Ron and Lauren were. He had his belt on, with two PokeBalls on. Ron mouthed

"_Where did you get the second one?" _Jack help up a finger, signaling that he would explain later. Ron nodded.

After a few moments of the trio silently standing there, waiting, Lauren cleared her throat. Zane and Douglas looked up, a startled expression on their faces, before realizing whom they were.

"Oh, sorry to keep you standing there. We didn't notice you guys enter." Zane said to the three. Ron smirked.

"We noticed." Douglas raised an eyebrow, and then looked at Zane. Zane cleared his throat, and began his speech.

"Well… here is the gist of it. Have you three ever heard of Team Aqua and Team Magma?" Ron, Lauren, and Jack looked at each other with confusion on their faces. "I'll take that as a no. But the perpetrators of last night's attack was Team Aqua." Jack interjected with a question

"What did they want with us?" Zane looked at Douglas, then said

"I'll get to that in a bit. But basically, they wanted something that we were keeping here. A piece of technology that Devon Corp. has been developing for some time now. Team Aqua got wind of this invention, and they realized that it would help them with their goals. So, they tried to steal it."

As Ron was listening, the realization hit him. The people who had attacked Oldale, the people who had attacked them on the road, and the people who were in Petalburg were all the same!

"They were after Professor Birch." Lauren quickly interrupted

"Wait, Professor Birch? Why him?"

"He had the piece of tech that they needed. Apparently, they thought he was in Oldale, not Littleroot, like he actually is. But! He's still in danger, whether or not he realizes it. So, here is what I am asking of you three. You all demonstrated a lot of bravery in the attack, and what we're asking you to do will take that same courage." He stopped talking, and then looked towards Douglas.

Douglas continued on. "We need you three to go to Littleroot and escort Professor Birch to Rustboro."

"Wait a second!" Ron half-yelled. "Rustboro? That's a 4 day walk! And through Petalburg Woods!" Douglas nodded.

"Yes, we know. The journey will take a while. But the Rangers can't afford to do it; they don't have the resources. They're already spread thin enough around Hoenn tracking these two teams, and the resources they devoted to helping Oldale weakened them too much. We're asking you to do this, for no other reason other than we think you can and we need you to." He looked at each of the three teenagers, lingering the longest while looking at Ron.

Ron looked at his two friends. They both nodded at him. Ron looked at Douglas and Zane, and nodded. Zane cleared his throat and spoke up again

"Ahem! All right, so it's settled then. You three should get moving as fast as possible, just to make sure Aqua doesn't get to Birch first. He will be expecting you. Clear?"

"Clear!" The three said in unison.


	3. Begins With a Single Step

…Begins with a Single Step

That afternoon, the three had started towards Littleroot. It wasn't too far away from Oldale, only a few hours away, but Route 101 had several species of Pokemon, including Poochyena. There had been several horror stories of travelers being attacked by packs of the small wolf Pokemon, so the three were on their guard.

They were outfitted in Ranger body armor, which was quite state of the art. Thick ceramic plates covered their chests and backs, with forearm and shin guards that fitted nicely over their clothes. They also all had helmets with a flip-down visor that polarized, which could act as both sunglasses and night-vision. However, it was 4 O'clock in the afternoon, so they had no need for either.

The small band of travelers had made most of the journey in silence, slightly overwhelmed at the responsibility asked of them. Finally, Ron asked Jack about the second PokeBall.

"Hey Jack, how'd you get the second Pokemon?" Jack looked down at his belt.

"Oh! No, I don't have a second Pokemon. I just picked up another PokeBall off of a dead Aqua member." Ron was a bit surprised at that blunt and macabre observation of Jack. He laughed a little bit, but it was cut off by a distant howl. The three suddenly tensed, then without a word they all let out their Pokemon.

The Pokemon looked up at their trainers, then realized what they were tense about. The three Pokemon immediately got ready for a fight. Zippo's tail flame spurted up in anticipation, Cinder's flames spurted up, and Xylem stooped in a crouch, ready for a fight.

Another howl was let loose, and the sound echoed across the twilight hours. It was quickly followed by another, and another. Within moments, the air was crisscrossed with howls, that were drawing closer and closer.

The three humans got close together, with their backs to each other. Their three Pokemon got in front of their respective trainers, and waited.

They didn't have to wait long. The trees around them were started to be populated by glowing eyes; many glowing eyes. One of the eyes moved out of the trees, and it wasn't what the young trainers expected. It was a big, mangy Mightyena. More eyes followed it, and then suddenly the road in front and behind them had at least a dozen grimy and vicious looking Poochyena. They growled and snapped at the band, sniffing the air constantly.

Zippo, who had tasted his first blood at the battle in Oldale, was eager for more. Ron noticed the bloodlust in his eyes, and at this moment was happy to oblige it.

"Zippo! Use Ember!" His Charmander nodded, and let loose a small stream of fire at the pack of wolf Pokemon. Most of them jumped out of the way of it, but one of the Poochyenas got a full blast of the fire. It ran around yelping as its fur ignited and caught on fire. It accidentally ran into another Poochyena, and set that one on fire too. The two small wolves ran around in pain, and then bolted into the forest, away from the fight.

The rest of the pack froze at the sight of the flames, but the Mightyena growled at them, and they continued forward towards the group, albeit slightly more wary this time. Jack called out,

"Xylem, use Bullet Seed! Aim for their eyes!" Xylem let loose with a stream of small pellets, aiming for the face of them. They danced around, trying to avoid the small seeds, while Lauren and Ron ordered Cinder and Zippo to continue attacking the pack with their flames.

Several minutes passed, with the battle turning into a stalemate. The wild Pokemon would come in close, then dodge out of the way of the fire and streams of seeds, always seeming to never get hit. Finally, a Poochyena broke through and launched itself at Zippo, who gladly obliged the Pokemon's request for close combat. The rest of the pack followed suit, and it devolved into a melee.

The trainers were better off then their Pokemon at fending off the small wolves. Taller by far then them, they merely had to kick at the small wolves to get them off. The wild Pokemon could never get a good bite on them, because they had body armor on.

Suddenly, Zippo let loose a loud (yet high pitched) roar, and reared up, blood all over his snout, standing on a dead Poochyena, its throat having been torn out. The other Poochyena took one look at the bloodthirsty lizard, then turned tail and fled. The Mightyena ran away with them, but before it bounded into the trees, it gave the band one last glare. Then it followed the rest of its pack.

"That…. Was fun." Lauren gasped, out of breath. She was coming down from the adrenaline rush, and was suddenly tired. Jack and Ron nodded in agreement. Their Pokemon were faring better than them; Zippo and Cinder were sitting together, and Xylem was perched up in a tree, watching for more threats. The trainers decided to not recall the Pokemon. A threat could be right around the corner.

Within the hour, they finally got to Littleroot Town. Little more than a hamlet, the main attractions of the town were Professor Birch's lab and a small amphitheater. The population barely broke 1000.

"Excuse me fellas." A night watchman stopped the trio. He was wearing a cap and overalls, and had a Linoone at his side. "Can I ask your business in Littleroot? You seem decked out for battle."

They all looked at one another, then Ron stepped forward.

"We're here on behalf on the Ever Grande Ranger Corps. We need to escort Professor Birch to Rustboro, and quickly too. He should be expecting us."

"Rangers, huh? Aren't you guys a bit too young to be Rangers?"

"I'm sorry sir, but we have no time to waste. We need to get going." The watchman stared at them for a bit longer, then finally relented.

"Alright, I'll show you his lab. Right this way."

Professor Birch was dashing about his lab, trying to get his things ready. He received a telegram from Commander Zane, saying he was sending an escort for him to get to Rustboro. He was just about finished packing, but he still needed to find this one… last…. thing…. KNOCK KNOCK. He jumped up, startled by the sudden noise of someone knocking on his door. He rushed to the door.

The sight of a frenzied man quickly throwing open the door, then dashing back into his lab greeted the watchman and co. Ron suppressed a laugh; his friends did the same. They knew that they were dealing with one of the world's foremost experts on Pokemon… but it was still funny.

"Professor Birch!" The watchman called out. The Professor called back.

"Yeah?"

"These here Rangers are to escort you all the way to Rustboro!" He was met by silence for several seconds, then a flurry of noise. It sounded like bunch of random things and objects were being dumped on the floor.

"Ah yes! I know that…. Hold on… just a sec!" The watchman turned back towards the trio and shrugged.

"Birch is a bit of an oddball if you ask me. He's nice though… just a bit weird. It's alright though. He should be a fine enough traveling companion."

"Does he have any Pokemon?" Jack asked.

"Birch? No. Foolish if you ask me. We're a day's walk from any major city, so we can't take care of ourselves like they can in places like Rustboro or Mauville. No, we need to be able to protect ourselves. But, even so, the man just studies Pokemon. Doesn't train 'em."

"Well!" Everyone jumped at the sudden appearance of Birch. "I used to be a trainer, back when I was younger. My favorite was electric types. But, that was back then. Not any more. Gave them all to my brother, Wattson."

"Isn't he the Gym Leader in Mauville?" Ron asked. Birch nodded in affirmation.

"That he is. A fine man… Anyway! Should we get going now?"

The small band of travelers was soon on their way, after getting some supplies for Birch. They were barely ten minutes into their walk when Birch started talking.

"So. What happened at Oldale?" Ron looked at Birch.

"It was attacked by Team Aqua. They were searching for you. Didn't you know that?" Birch shook his head.

"Nope! Commander Zane just told me that he was sending an escort for me to get to Rustboro safely, that Aqua was searching for me, and they thought I was in Oldale. What happened?" Ron started to fill him in.

"It was attacked by a large force of Team Aqua members, at least 30 or so in number, AND their Pokemon. They had followed me earlier that day too, along with my step-dad. Apparently they thought you were in Oldale, with some new prototype that would help them 'fulfill their goals' or whatever. I don't know why." Birch looked confused for a second.

"Wait a second. Your step-father? Why were you with him?"

"Because… I live with him?" Ron answered, confused.

"So… you're not Rangers?" Lauren shook her head.

"Nope. Just trainers. They couldn't afford to send any more Rangers. You'll be fine though, don't worry."

"Alright…" Even as he said it, Birch was plenty worried. Team Aqua was a powerful force to be reckoned with, and Zane only sent some kids to escort him all the way to Rustboro! It was basically suicide. Suddenly, Birch felt himself grow hot, and felt nervous sweat drip down his neck. He didn't feel so safe any more.

"What… what sort of Pokemon do you three have?" In sync, they released their Pokemon. At the sight of the basic level Pokemon, Birch felt himself go woozy. Three kids and basic Pokemon! It wasn't basically suicide, it WAS suicide. However, Zane had to have had a good reason to send these kids and not Rangers. Maybe they were good trainers. That must've been it.

"Why do you ask?" Jack inquired.

"Oh… You know. Curiosity." They all walked in silence after the exchange, occasionally exchanging small talk, but nothing meaningful.

After a while, Birch asked Ron

"Hey, who is your step-father?" Ron was a little bit confused at the question, but answered anyway.

"Umm… Douglas Vanson. Why?" Birch's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Doug Vanson? He's your step-dad?" Ron slowly nodded. "He was my partner in this project!" Ron thought about it for a second, and then nodded.

"That explains why they followed us and attacked us before Oldale!" Ron thought some more. "What were you two working on anyway?" Birch shook his head.

"That's classified. They shouldn't have even told you three we were working on anything in the first place. Sorry about that. But I can't tell you."

"We understand." Jack said. "Some things are not meant to be shared with others."


	4. Anybody Else Like Seafood?

Anybody Else Like Seafood?

Most of the journey passed without any serious incident. Sometimes a wild Pokemon would approach, but their Pokemon (generally Zippo) would yell at it and drive it away. During their travel to Rustboro, it was there that Ron discovered that Zippo really liked to eat Bug type Pokemon, especially Wurmple.

They passed by Oldale during the night, and walked throughout the night until they got to Petalburg, at about 3 in the morning. The found a small inn to stay at, and rented two rooms. They all fell asleep rather quickly. Jack fell asleep so fast; he didn't even take his armor off.

The next morning, the small band of travelers was on their way towards Rustboro and Petalburg Woods. After eating a hearty, yet cheap, breakfast in Petalburg, they had set off towards Route 104.

The walk to Route 104 was relatively short, only about a half hour walk, before coming up to a large sign.

"ROUTE 104 SOUTH TO ROUTE 105 SOUTH TO DEWFORD TOWN.

ROUTE 104 NORTH TO PETALBURG WOODS."

"Well. I guess we go north to Petalburg Woods, don't we." Jack said with a sarcastic drawl. The only one who chuckled was Birch. So the small band set off north, towards Petalburg woods. Unbeknownst to them, many pairs of eyes watched them from the shadows. The big Mightyena growled softly at them, with a vicious hunger in its eyes.

"So, it splits into two?" Ron asked. They were standing at a fork in the road. The one to the right was on a tallish plateau, with a gentle curving slope. The road to the left led them to a long beach.

"Which one do you guys want to take?" Lauren started to open her mouth to answer, but Birch cut her off before she could say anything.

"Plateau. The beach would hinder our progress." He started off to the right before anyone could say anything.

"Oh… ok?" They all followed him.

The road to the plateau was fairly long and was a good slope, but it was relatively easy to the young, in-shape teenagers. Professor Birch on the other hand…

"C'mon Birch! It's not that bad! It's like… a 15 degree angle!" Jack shouted down to Birch. Birch was wheezing in the cool air.

"The salt!... The salty air… It gets to me!" He barely had the lung capacity to call up to the trainers. They all had to suppress snickers as Birch tried to keep up with them.

"We're wearing body armor too!" Ron yelled at him. "It's… it's about 10 extra pounds! We're doing fine!"

After another 20 minutes of walking, and Birch barely keeping pace, they finally got to the flat part of the plateau.

"Phwew!" Birch exclaimed. "Glad that's over with." He promptly sat down. The three teens exchanged a glance, then sat down with him too. They released their Pokemon, and got out some food.

"_Might as well take a break." _Ron thought. When he released Zippo from his ball, he noticed something in his eyes. He had a certain glint that wasn't there before the fight with the pack; a certain fire in his eye that wasn't there in his friend's Pokemon. Cinder was rather timid, as all Cyndaquil are, and Xylem was laid back, as most Treeckos are wont to be. But Zippo was different. Ron had studied the Charmander line quite a bit, and the trademark aggressiveness didn't start to manifest until it evolved to Charmeleon. Maybe Zippo was different; only time would tell.

After about 20 minutes, Ron determined that the break was over.

"Alright! Let's get going. I want to try and get to Rustboro within 3 days." Birch started to protest, but stopped quickly when Ron gave him a look. The small party was on the move again, this time with their Pokemon out, as a deterrent.

As they were walking, Zippo smelled something in the air. A very mangy and dog like scent. He looked up at the humans, but they didn't notice. He looked at Cinder and Xylem, and they could smell it too. It was the smell of wolves. He was instantly on alert, but the wind changed, taking the smell with it. However, he didn't relax. He was even more alert than he was.

"Aw man!" Birch whined. "We're out of water!" Ron snickered

"You are at least. Don't worry, we'll find a pond or something. You can refill there." As if on cue, Lauren pointed one out.

"Hey, there's one right there!" She exclaimed. She had seen a small pond down a slight slope, and behind some bushes. Without saying anything, Birch scurried over towards where she was pointing, the rest of the group in tow.

"God, he doesn't give any warning, does he?" Ron said to the others. They nodded their consent. Before they could get much further, the air was split by a loud scream. They all looked at each other in shock, then sprinted towards the sound, their Pokemon right behind them.

When they rounded the corner around the bushes, a grisly sight greeted them. Birch was on his butt, scooting away from a dead body, half floating in the water. The corpse was bloated and pale, with massive gashes in its torso and face. Birch was white as a sheet, shivering at the thought of nearly touching it. Ron hadn't seen too many dead bodies before, but he had seen some. So he had been around the block.

He and Jack kneeled down near the body, trying to determine what had killed the unfortunate person. Lauren was over near Birch, helping him get up and moving.

"This guy has been dead for some time now…. Probably a few days at least." Ron observed.

"You're right… Hey Ron, look at the claw marks. They seem jagged." Ron looked at what Jack had pointed out.

"You're right! Especially the gash on his neck… it seems like it's a… zig-zag…" He trailed off. Partially because he didn't know what else to say, and partially because he saw something moving in the water out of the corner of his eye. A slight shadow in the water, moving towards the two trainers. Ron couldn't tell what it was at first, but then…

"Jack, look out!" Jack jumped away from the water, and not a moment too soon. A massive claw shot out from the water and grabbed at where Jack had his leg a half second before. Ron scrambled away from the water's edge as well, calling for Zippo as he went. He shot to his side, growling at the threat. The claw retreated back into the water, and a few feet away, thin eyestalks pointed up.

"What the hell was that!" Birch yelled.

"Probably a Crawdaunt." Lauren responded. "Aren't you a Pokemon Professor?" She asked sarcastically.

"Hey! This is not the time for that!" Ron yelled at the two. "Get ready for a fight!" They all backed away from the water's edge as the massive crab Pokemon got out.

"Jeez, that's a big crab." Ron muttered to himself. The Crawdaunt stood at least 6 feet tall, and its claws were the size of Ron's torso. It hissed a challenge at the intruders. Zippo growled back at the monster.

"Zippo! Use Ember!" Ron yelled, at the same time as Lauren commanded Cinder to do the same. The two small streams of fire smothered the crab in flames, but it simply shrugged it off. The Crawdaunt opened its mouth, and let loose a gout of water at the two fiery Pokemon. Both of them dodged out of the way, and just in time too. The stream of water impacted at the ground and blew away a big chunk of dirt. Ron shook his head at the thought of that impacting with Zippo.

"Xylem! Use Pound! Get above it!" Jack commanded. Xylem nodded at the order. He started sprinting on all fours, and just as Jack crouched down, he leapt on Jack's back, then jumped high in the air. He did several flips in midair to gain momentum, and then started to bring his tail down towards the monstrous crab Pokemon. Just as he was about to hit the Crawdaunt, it shot its claw up into the air and knocked Xylem away. However, he recovered in midair and landed on all fours.

"Just like a Skitty!" Jack said, proud of his Pokemon's effort. However, his victory was short-lived, as the Crawdaunt shot another stream of water towards Jack. He had to roll to avoid it. Zippo and Cinder shot another combined Ember towards the monster, but it shrugged it off again.

"Damn! What's it going to take to kill this thing?" Ron asked Lauren. She merely shrugged, stumped as to how they were going to kill it. They were brought back into the fight by the sounds of lots of sharp cracks. Xylem was shooting Bullet Seeds at the monster, peppering its shell with the small projectiles. The Crawdaunt seemed visibly annoyed at the pain, and hissed at Xylem. It shot a torrent of water at Xylem, who rolled to the side to avoid it. He shot another burst of seeds at the Crawdaunt, and this time it did some damage. Its shell cracked, right in the center of the chest.

"There!" Ron shouted. "Aim for the crack!" Zippo and Cinder acknowledged the order, shooting Embers at the crack in the shell. The heat of the fire, combined with the continuing barrage of seeds, widened the crack even more. The crab Pokemon started to panic at the pain, shooting streams of water at its assailants. However, due to its panic, the aim was terrible. The trainers and their Pokemon found it continuingly easier to dodge the water attacks, until they didn't even have to move it missed so terribly.

Eventually, under the combined withering assault, the crack grew bigger and bigger, until finally a piece of the shell fell off.

"There! Xylem, use quick attack!" Jack ordered. Xylem took a few steps back, then shot forward with tremendous speed. He rammed into the crab with massive force, shattering the chest of its shell and exposing the soft flesh underneath. Xylem jumped back away from the crab. Zippo, seeing his change, charged forward. He leapt onto the Crawdaunt's chest, tearing into the rubbery flesh.

Zippo had ripped a piece of the crab's flesh from it, and while trying to take another bite, the Crawdaunt knocked Zippo off. Zippo dodged out of the way of a massive hammer blow from its claw, and back away. Bleeding profusely, the Crawdaunt was on edge. It shot blasts of water one after another at the trainers and their Pokemon; so much, they didn't have a chance to counterattack. They kept it up, until Lauren finally messed up. She slipped in her dodge, and a blast of water hit her square in the chest, knocking her backwards.

The monstrous Crawdaunt advanced swiftly towards her prostrate form, claws raised for the killing blow. Ron tried to run forward to get to Lauren first, but the crab shot a spout of water that knocked Ron back, and kept advancing.

It was barely 4 feet from Lauren when it happened. An intense flash of bright light swamped the whole battlefield. All the combatants were momentarily blinded… except for Cinder. Because where Cinder the Cyndaquil used to stand, stood Cinder the Quilava.

Without being issued an order, Cinder cloaked herself in fire and charged forward in a burst of speed. She knocked the legs out from under the Crawdaunt. The crab, already unsteady and weak from the damage done by Zippo, toppled to the ground.

Seizing her chance, Cinder opened her mouth and shot a stream of fire at the downed Crawdaunt. Against the weaker Ember attacks, the Crawdaunt's armor stood firm. However, against the much more powerful Flamethrower, it had no chance. The crab Pokemon was essentially flash-boiled inside of its armor.

With the battle against the monstrous crab finally over, the group collapsed in exhaustion. Dodging the spouts of water had taken a lot out of them… literally.

"Are you done throwing up?" Jack asked Ron. Ron wiped a small trickle of vomit off of his chin.

"Yeah. Not my fault though. Hit me right in the stomach."

"Yeah Jack!" Lauren said, albeit with slightly weak voice. "You didn't get hit by it. That hurt like hell!"

"Heh heh heh…" Jack chuckled. "It's cause I was agile to dodge it. Birch didn't get hit either… wait a second. Where is Birch?" They all looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. On an unspoken order, their Pokemon all took off to look for him.

"BIRCH!" Ron shouted.

"Right here!" The reply came from the bushes ten feet from them.

"Ahh, jeez! Why were you in there?" Ron exasperatedly asked. Birch was busy untangling himself from the bushes while saying

"Cause I didn't want to be eaten, that's why!"


	5. To Make the Long Walk

To Make the Long Walk

"Well, it's a good thing Cinder evolved!" Ron said to the group. They all sat around a campfire, lit up by Cinder and Zippo. It was rather late at night, and with the excitement of the day, none of them could fall asleep. So they all sat around a campfire, just talking to each other.

"It sure is." Lauren said smugly. "It's about time too, she's been right on the edge for a month now. I guess it was the adrenaline that set it off. She was just too powerful for the overgrown walking calamari." Cinder seemed to bask in the compliments that had been lavished upon her since she saved Lauren yesterday. Jack smirked at her comment.

"Yeah, it ain't like Xylem and I did any work or anything." Ron jumped into the conversation too.

"Did you see Zippo tear into that sum-bitch? He messed it up!"

"Also, calamari is fried Octillery, not Crawdaunt." Birch interjected.

"OHHHH!" Ron and Jack said at the same time. " BIRCH IS KILLING IT!" Ron yelled at Lauren. She folded her arms and sat back, a fake pout on her face. Everyone laughed at her; even the Pokemon seemed to chuckle.

"Wow. That's… dense." Ron whistled. After two days of walking, they had finally made it to the outskirts of the Petalburg Woods. The trees were incredibly tall, even on the edge. Most of them they could see were at least 80 feet tall, with trunks thicker than a Snorlax.

"How are we going to get through it?" Lauren mumbled to herself.

"Ahh, don't worry. I've made this trek a dozen times before. Just follow me." Without warning, Birch started off into the dense woods. The trio quickly followed him, not wanting to lose him in the dark woods.

The woods were… creepy to say the least. Even with their Pokemon out, and Zippo's flickering flame illuminating the path around them, there was still a pervasive feel of darkness around them. Every now and then, a strange cry echoed in the darkness.

"Birch?" Lauren tentatively said.

"Yes, Lauren?"

"What sorts of Pokemon live in these woods?" Birch thought about it for a second, the answered.

"There's your standard affair of common Pokemon, like Tailow, Shroomish, Zigzagoon, Wurmple, the Wurmple evolutions, and the occasional Poochyena. These wood Poochyena aren't as aggressive as the other types. Probably the constant darkness. We still don't know exactly why, but they aren't the real problem." The three teenage trainers looked at each other, scared expressions on their faces.

"What… what is the real problem then?" Jack asked.

"Well, the real problem is the wild Breloom. There have been documented account of them attacking, and sometimes killing, lost trainers." Lauren blanched as white as a sheet. Birch turned around just in time to see the blood rush from her face, then laughed.

"Ha ha ha! Don't worry, we'll be fine. We have Cinder and Zippo with us. Don't forget, Breloom is a Grass type." However, Lauren still wasn't convinced at how safe she was. She got closer to Cinder, who looked up with an amused look on her face.

The walk in the forest was slow going. Their pace was slow, always having to avoid thick underbrush, and trying to stick to the small, worn path. Every now and then, a small wild Pokemon, normally a Zigzagoon or Wurmple, would wander close to them. But it was always scared away by a small puff of fire or a growl from Zippo. Ron noticed this, and also noticed how it was always Zippo that scared the wild Pokemon away.

"Professor?" Ron asked Birch.

"Yes Ron?"

"Do you have any idea as to why Zippo is unusually aggressive? Isn't that aggressiveness supposed to show up with he evolves into a Charmeleon?"

"Well… yes. The Charmander line is famous for its aggressive and volatile temperament, and its stubbornness, but maybe Zippo is just an anomaly. Or, it could be that he's close to evolving to Charmeleon. It's not uncommon for Charmander to become more and more aggressive the closer to evolution they get."

"Well he was violent right from the get-go!" Birch thought about it for a moment.

"Maybe he was just close to evolution when you got him. Or maybe he's older than you think. I don't know. When I get the chance, I'll try and inspect him to try and determine his age for you."

"Thanks Professor. I've been wondering that for a while now."

"You're welcome. However, I don't know the exact specifics of Evolution. I study Pokemon ecology. Your best bet for Evolution would be Professor Rowan, in Sinnoh. But, that's really far away."

"This is true." Ron concurred. "That is true. Thanks anyway Birch."

The walk through the woods was mostly silent. Everyone was listening to the sounds of the wood around them, waiting. The feeling of inevitable dread was pushing down on everyone, but they couldn't tell why, or what was going to happen, or when. For some reason, whatever it may be, they just knew.

"How deep does this place go…" Ron mused to himself. With the sun gone, they had lost all perception of time. The group had been walking for what seemed like hours and hours… but it could've been just a few. They didn't know. They had to rely on their natural body clocks to really tell, and right now, their bodies were telling them to eat.

When pressed to the issue about hunger, Birch shook his head vigorously.

"No! We can't stop now. We need to keep going! Just a little bit further." At this, Lauren started whining.

"W-w-w-w-h-h-h-y-y-y-y! We've been walking for hours and I haven't had any food in such a long time!" Birch continued walking without saying anything for a few moments, then responded.

"We can't stop here, or anywhere else except for one place. I'll tell you why when we stop." He continued walking on the path.

When Birch finally stopped, they had come to a clearing in the woods. Barely 20 feet in diameter, it could hardly be considered a real clearing. However, Birch finally stopped walking. Lauren exhaled a sigh of relief, and collapsed on the ground. She dug around in her pack, searching for food.

The rest of the party sat down as well, and started to relax a little bit. Zippo sat down on the ground, munching on a small hunk of Wurmple flesh. Xylem and Cinder were sharing a small hunk of bread together. The clearing finally let some light through to the ground. It was twilight, and the golden light shone down on them. It was an idyllic scene…. One that was not meant to last.

The sudden howling of wolves shattered the tranquil scene. Everyone jumped to his or her feet, ready for a fight. Several Poochyena leapt from the trees, surrounding the gang. The trainers formed a triangle around Birch, with each trainer's Pokemon a few feet ahead of them. Several more Poochyena burst from the undergrowth of the woods, snarling and growling at the humans and their Pokemon. But they didn't attack, as if waiting on some order.

After a few tense seconds of the stare down between each party, the Poochyena pack got quiet. The Mightyena slowly stalked through the trees into the clearing, looking at its foes. It softly growled at its pack, and the pack slowly crept forward. The trainers tensed up, ready for the upcoming fight.


	6. Surprises, Surprises

Surprises, Surprises

"Go, Golem!" A woman shouted. The unknown voice echoed through the clearing as the massive Rock Pokémon barreled through the trees towards the trapped trainers. It crashed through the group of Poochyena, crushing several underneath its feet. The trainer's Pokémon took advantage of the confusion, launching themselves at the wild Pokémon. The leader Mightyena growled and snapped at the Golem, then charged at it.

The Golem barely flinched as the wolf Pokémon barreled into it. He grabbed the wolf by the head with one massive hand, and squeezed. It barely gave any resistance. The Golem threw the decapitated corpse to the ground, searching for new targets. But it didn't need to.

The trainer's Pokémon had already chased the Poochyena away. Disoriented from the Golem's ambush and with their leader dead, they didn't know what to do. They barely gave any resistance to the assaults of the other Pokémon, and scattered into the woods.

"Good job Golem!" The voice sounded out again. A young woman, looking to be in her late teens to early twenties, walked through the trees into the clearing.

"Who are you?" Ron warily asked, Zippo cautiously standing in front of him. She opened her mouth to answer, but Birch cut her off.

"Roxanne! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I got a telegram from Ever Grande that you were being escorted to Rustboro, and Team Aqua was after you. Figured you could use a bit more firepower on your side, so I left yesterday to meet you here. Came just in time too, huh?" Birch nodded.

"I still don't know who you are." Ron said.

"Ahh! Sorry. I'm Roxanne, Gym Leader of Rustboro!" Jack blurted out, confused.

"You're a Gym leader?" Roxanne smirked at Jack's blunt outburst.

"Yes. Yes I am." Jack was still confused.

"But.. but… you're so young…"

"So are you! Just because I'm 22 doesn't mean anything. My Pokémon are powerful." At that, she took out two more PokeBalls and flung them out. There were two bright flashes of light, and suddenly the clearing had two more denizens in it. A large Rhydon and Kabutops flashed into existence. At their abrupt calling, they quickly dropped into battle stances, before realizing there were no threats facing them.

At the sight of the powerful Rock Pokémon, Jack visibly blanched.

"Those… Those are yours?" Roxanne laughed out loud, and nodded her head.

"C'mon." She said. "Lets get moving." She gave a few hand signals to her massive Pokémon, who formed up around her. Her Golem was in the lead, the Rhydon to her right and her Kabutops to her left. The rest of the party filed in behind her, heading deeper into the forest.

As they got further in, the forest started to thin out, until finally they could see through the trees. At the sight of their newfound escort, the wild Pokémon gave them a very wide berth. The only exception was a mad and territorial Breloom, which was quickly dealt with. A few slices from the Kabutops left the offending Breloom lying on the forest floor, separated into several pieces. Zippo, ever the warrior, stared at the Kabutops in awe as it killed the Breloom without even trying.

Several hours later, the traveling party had finally made their way through the forest. It seemed to end quiet abruptly. One moment they were walking through trees, the next they were standing at the edge of a large road.

"AH! YES!" At the sight of an unobstructed sky, Lauren shouted to the heavens. "We finally made it!"

"Happy, aren't you?" Ron chuckled slightly at her enthusiasm at being able to see the sun again. Birch blinked a lot at the sudden change of light.

"Yeah… But I think she needs to stop being happy, right now." Roxanne said, with a slight edge to her voice. Ron looked up at her, but she didn't look back. She was staring ahead at the road, at four distant but quickly approaching figures. Lauren sobered up fast, as she saw them too. Even though they were far away, everyone could detect an air of menace about them.

With some sort of unspoken consent among them, the Pokémon took their places in front of their trainers. Zippo growled at the incoming threats. Roxanne barked an order at her Pokemon, and they started to slowly walk towards the distant silhouettes. The rest of the party followed them, walking just as slow.

When the two groups got close enough to see each other, it wasn't pretty. The mystery group was wearing dark blue uniforms, and had large embroidered "A"s on them too. When they were about one hundred feet apart, the Team Aqua thugs released their Pokemon.

Two Mightyenas, two Zangooses, a Golbat, a Seviper, and a Croconaw flashed into existence beside the Team Aqua thugs. Even from the distance apart that they were, Ron could see that one of them had a grim smile on his face.

The two opposing sides stopped within 30 feet of each other. By now, the Team Aqua goons could tell that their quarry, Professor Birch, was among them.

"Halt! Lets us have Professor Birch, and you can walk free!" The leader of the group stepped forward and said.

"By whose authority?" Roxanne shot back.

"My name is Sub-Commander Kato, and I am part of the powerful organization known as Team Aqua! You should know this by now, Roxanne…" he trailed off menacingly, with a dark smirk on his face.

"Let me think about that for a second NO." Roxanne said, without any pause in her sentence. She motioned to her Pokemon to get ready to attack, with the teenaged trainers doing so as well.

"Suit yourself." Kato shrugged. He nodded to his cronies, who ordered all their Pokemon to attack. The Team Aqua Pokemon charged forward with a loud roar; the others did the same.

Roxanne's Rhydon immediately charged towards the two Mightyena. It barreled at one with a Horn Drill attack, but it leapt out of the way just in time, only sustaining a small snick in its side. The other leapt on Rhydon's back and started to bite its neck, but to no avail. Rhydon's hide was too strong. It reached back and grabbed the wolf Pokémon with one mighty hand. It threw it down on the ground, stamped on it, and then impaled it with its horn.

The trainer's Pokémon launched themselves at one of the Zangooses and the Croconaw. Cinder started to duel the Zangoose, while Xylem and Zippo attacked the Croconaw. The Croconaw shot a blast of water at Xylem, but he dodged the attack by flipping out of the way. The enemy Pokémon didn't notice Zippo until too late, as the fiery lizard lowered his shoulder and tackled the crocodilian Pokémon to the ground. Even though Zippo was smaller, he still managed to do a fair bit of damage while on top of the Croconaw, before the water croc blasted Zippo off with a powerful Water Gun. As the Croconaw stood above the downed Zippo, opening its maw to bite, it was cut off by seeds thudding into it at high speeds.

Xylem had unleashed a strong Bullet Seed on the opposing Pokémon, knocking it backwards with the power of the deceptively small seeds. As the Croconaw struggled to get up, Xylem's eyes lit up with light. He charged forward, and grabbed on to the disoriented Pokemon. He then unleashed an Absorb attack on the weakened Croconaw.

As Xylem's eyes grew brighter and brighter, the Croconaw's eyes grew dimmer and dimmer, until Xylem finally released the attack out of sheer exhaustion. Seizing its chance, the Croconaw leapt forward and clamped down on Xylem's torso, shaking the Gecko back and forth.

Suddenly, Zippo charged forward with surprising speed, tackling the Croconaw and releasing Xylem. Zippo viciously bit at the Croconaw's neck, while at the same time raking his foots claws down its belly. The Croconaw tried to resist, but the Absorb had taken its toll. It couldn't struggle against Zippos raging assault, and finally died as Zippo bit and clawed at it.

Cinder's battle wasn't going so well. Cinder was fast, and had the advantage of fire attacks, but the Zangoose was much stronger and faster. Every time she got a bite or fire attack on it, it would always come back with twice the attack. Cinder was worn out fast, as the Zangoose seemed to dance circles around her, taunting her. Suddenly, the battle turned into Cinder's favor. Bullet Seeds started to whiz at the enemy Zangoose, causing it to turn its attention away from Cinder and search for a new target.

Cinder took her chance. Drawing from her last reserves of strength, she called forward one last burst of fire to cloak herself with. She charged at the Zangoose with a fast Flame Wheel.

The Zangoose didn't notice Cinder charging at it until it was too late, and she crashed into it, lighting its fur on fire and knocking it to the ground. Cinder, woozy from the effort, collapsed to the ground, barely conscious. Seizing its chance, the Zangoose started to crawl towards the downed Quilava, ready to make the killing blow. However, nearby the Zangoose, a flash of light illuminated the battlefield, blinding all the combatants, humans and Pokemon alike.

Suddenly, a large green shape shot forward towards the Zangoose. Attached to one of the figure's arms sat a glowing blade, which whizzed in the air towards the confused Zangoose. The figure continued past the Zangoose, then stopped to turn around as the top half of the body slid off the lower half.

As the flash of light lit up the battlefield, Kato seized his chance. He knew the battle was lost. All of his Pokemon were dead. A puny Charmander disemboweled his Croconaw, the Kabutops beheaded his Sceptile, and his Golbat was torn to pieces by that brutish Golem. His compatriots Pokemon didn't fare well either; both of the Mightyena lay dead, thanks to that Rhydon, and only one of the Zangoose was still standing, trying to avoid the Rhydon and the Golem. He weighed his options, then turned tail and fled down the road.

"Hey! Where are you going?" One of the Aqua goons yelled Kato. He didn't stop running. They started to run away too, but a loud hiss and a swiping sound stopped one of them in his tracks. One slash from the Kabutops had cut an Aqua member's arm and upper torso clean off.

As the body parts thudded to the ground, the other two goons hit the deck and put their hands on their head.

"We surrender! Please don't kill us!" One of them whined. The Kabutops raised his arms, and was about to swipe down, but Roxanne yelled at it to stand down. With a look of dejection on his face, the Kabutops backed off from the cowering, freshly captured Aqua members, as the rest of the Pokemon formed a ring around them.

Pure terror was the look on their faces, as they looked between their dead comrade, and the ring of snarling monsters around them. The trainers walked up towards the new prisoners, smirks on their faces as they looked at the terrified people. Roxanne walked between the Pokemon, and crouched down in front of them.

"So. Tell me all you know, and they" She pointed at the angry Pokemon "Will have to eat something else for dinner tonight. Got it?" The mortified prisoners nodded their consent. "Good. Glad we understand each other."


	7. Bring Em Back Alive

**A/N **

**Shout out to ballandcup, for being the only consistent (and only) reviewer of the story. Hats off. Also this is a filler chapter, yes.  
**

Bring Em Back Alive

"What do you mean, you didn't get Birch!?" She yelled at Kato. Kato stood at attention, ramrod straight. He yelled back at his superior officer

"Ma'am! We failed to retrieve Birch because he was being protected by Roxanne and three other trainers, ma'am!" Aqua Admin Shelly slowly shook her head in disappointment, and paced behind her desk. After a few seconds, she stopped pacing, and looked Kato square in the eyes.

"And… you mean to tell me that at least three of our operatives are dead or captured?" Kato didn't respond; he merely nodded, not wanting to show his fear by having cracks in his voice. Shelly walked from behind her desk to stand directly in front of Kato. Without warning, she unleashed a massive slap on his face. He staggered backwards, holding his face, an expression of shock on it.

"YOU INCOMPETENT FOOL!" Shelly screamed at Kato. "YOU HAD ONE JOB! GET BIRCH! YOU ASSURED ME YOU HAD IT! ARGH!" She started to pace back and forth again. "Now Archie is going to kill me…" She muttered to herself. She stopped, and looked at Kato with a curious expression on her face.

"Sub-Commander Kato, I'm hereby promoting you to Mid-Commander. Effective immediately. Your new orders are this; report back to my office at 0700 hours tomorrow. Understand?" Kato snapped to attention, and barked his affirmation.

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" Shelly nodded at him.

"Dismissed." Kato walked out of Shelly's office, thinking about what had just happened, a puzzled expression on his face. He was walking around the bustling secret Team Aqua base, in a cave just north of Rustboro, near the ocean. The cave was technically a part of Meteor Falls; however, Aqua had blocked off some entrances to make it all one large connected cave. At least 400 Team Aqua members were stationed there; it was the Aqua base responsible for the entire northwest of Hoenn. Consequently, it had a large responsibility.

"Hey Kato!" Kato looked around for the source of the voice, and quickly found it. It was his oldest friend and constant companion, Sub-Commander Dirk Gavin. A relieved smile washed over Kato's face; Gavin always knew how to make a day better in the often-dreary world of working for Team Aqua. "What's up? How did your meeting with Shelly go?"

"It was weird. I got slapped, then promoted to Mid-Commander. Effective immediately." Gavin threw his hands up in sarcasm.

"Watch out guys, looks like we have a Mid-Commander over here!" Kato chuckled at his joke.

"I have to report to her at 7 tomorrow morning. That'll be fun. I'm guessing she wants me to go try and get Birch again… **sigh**… Sometimes I hate this."

"Ahh, cheer up. Remember, it's for a good cause. That PokeNav that Birch has been developing with Devon Corp. will really speed up communication in Aqua. And we're not trying to kill him… just capture him." Kato nodded. He already knew this… and Team Aqua's goal was just… But it still felt wrong, somehow. Gavin noticed how his friend had a pensive look on his face.

"Ahh, cheer up! We'll be fine. Could be worse; could be raining."

Kato woke up at 6 AM to get ready to meet with Shelly. He was a bit nervous, which was expected. She was famous for her temper and strange mood swings. Most grunts attributed it to PMS, but… that was just an urban legend. Regardless, he had to see her. "_This could be a chance to redeem myself." _He thought to himself.

Kato had reached Shelly's door and was about to knock, before he froze. He had no idea what was about to happen… but he still had to do it anyway. He had to go through with this. He knocked on the door.

On the second knock, Shelly's voice sounded out sharply.

"Enter!" Kato quickly walked in and stood at attention in front of her desk.

"Mid-Commander Kato, reporting as ordered, Ma'am!"

"At ease, Kato. Here's my plan for you." Kato relaxed, and listened with rapt attention to her plan.

"Here's what's going to happen. You volunteered to get Birch after they got out of Petalburg Woods, but you royally fucked that up, so I'm going to let you get a second shot. That little op was low-key, but this next one I'm planning will be large in scale. It'll show everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, that Team Aqua is not to be fucked with. You with me so far?" Kato nodded his affirmation. "Good, because I'm letting you be in charge of this. If you fuck it up I don't want it to fall down on me. Understand?" Kato nodded, but inwardly he sighed. _"That's the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose." _He thought to himself.

"You're going to hand pick yourself an assault force. I have eyes in Rustboro and they're saying that Birch is holed up in Devon Corp. Headquarters, guarded by security and, on occasion, Rustboro Gym Members. From what my guy has seen, they have at least 15 guys on the OUTSIDE of the building at all times. Arceus knows exactly how many people are on the inside, but my guy says he's estimating between 20-30 every day, based on them coming and going. Questions?"

"Yes ma'am. How many people do you want me to take?" Shelly thought for a few moments.

"At least a dozen but less than 20 or so. I want to maximize strength without sacrificing mobility. You're going to hit that building hard and fast, and then get out hard and fast. 40 grunts would be too much. No, pick the best. Pick the guys who you know can do this without breaking a sweat. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Then dismissed!" Kato turned around to leave, but before he could, Shelly said something else.

"Oh, and Kato?" They made eye contact. "Bring 'em back alive."


	8. All Alone

All Alone

"Isn't Rustboro great!?" Lauren shouted out. The bustling metropolis was the biggest city west of Mt. Chimney, with a population of over 5 million people. It was widely known as the technological capital of Hoenn, with Devon Corp. Headquarters in the middle of the city.

To Ron, however, it wasn't great. Having grown up in the little town of Oldale and lived there all his life, he didn't particularly enjoy city life. To Lauren, however, it was a fresh change of pace. She had grown up in Slateport, but moved to Oldale when she was 11, for reasons she still doesn't know exactly why. This was the first time she had been in a city for years, and she wanted to enjoy it for all it was worth.

"Not really." Ron grumbled, mainly to himself. The crowds were making him nervous. Owing to the fact that Team Aqua was on their tail and that didn't help one bit. He kept scanning, expecting a Seviper to leap out of nowhere. He wanted to have Zippo at his side, but the first time he tried to release him, everyone around him screamed and a Policeman ordered him to put his Pokemon back into its ball.

"Aww, cheer up! We're only going to be here for a few more days, then we have to go back to boring old Oldale again." Lauren pouted.

"Yeah, but we've been here for a week already." Ron pointed out to Lauren. She humphed and turned away. She looked around, and saw the next store. She grabbed Ron's wrist and dragged him along. He had a terrible expression on his face.

"Xylem, use Bullet Seed!" Jack shouted out the command at his Grovyle. Xylem nodded his affirmation and started to shoot small seeds at the Graveler in front of him. The Graveler shrugged off the small seeds, crouched down, and started lumbering towards the Grovyle. Eventually the stream of seeds stopped, and the Graveler's trainer seized the moment.

"Graveler! Use Rollout!" The Graveler grunted and curled into a ball. It shot forwards towards Xylem, who leapt out of the way in the nick of time.

"Xylem, use Leaf Blade! Low-powered!" Xylem's long leaves on its arms started to glow in a bioluminescent way, and Xylem sprung towards the Graveler. He brought his arm blades crashing down on the Graveler (albeit with hardly any power). Even so, the Grass attack brought the sturdy Rock type to its knees.

"Graveler, that's enough!" Its trainer shouted. The Graveler was recalled in a flash of white light, and the trainer snapped the PokeBall to his belt. The two trainers shook hands, congratulating each other on a good training match. The rest of the Gym Members broke out into polite applause at a match well fought, including Roxanne.

When the three trainers came to Rustboro a week ago, she had let them stay in some extra rooms in the gym. The Team Aqua prisoners they took were being held and questioned by Rustboro Police, but it wasn't going well. Regardless, the other three trainers and Birch were adjusting well.

They were quite grateful for the good treatment, and sometimes they would train with her Gym members. They were all impressive trainers, and their Pokemon were all strong fighters. Roxanne remembered one particular training match where Ron's Zippo faced up against a Rampardos. Even though Ron had to surrender within 15 seconds, it was still impressive how Zippo had the courage to face the hulking dinosaur Pokemon.

At any rate, Roxanne still had to worry about the threat of Team Aqua. She didn't have to worry about Magma… yet.

_"Team Magma hasn't done anything public in months. I wonder what they're planning… But Aqua is the priority threat for now. Until I can be sure the kids will be safe, I won't send them all the way back to Oldale." _However, seeing them train, they would be able to hold their own in a stand-up fight… most likely.

"So that's the Devon Corp. building?" Gavin asked Kato. Kato merely nodded as he looked at the imposing fortress. The building was massive, easily 15 stories high. It was close enough to downtown to be near the general commute of most people, but not so close enough so it could have its own walls and security towers.

"Damn…" Kato muttered to himself. He watched the walls as security guards patrolled back and forth, their Pokemon at their sides. "How are we going to pull this one off…." He murmured. He brought 12 others with him, including Gavin. They were all dressed in normal clothes, so as to avoid undue suspicion.

The Team Aqua force was out getting a feel for the city, walking around and getting to know it better. They had a timeframe of three days to get Birch and get back to the base… Three days. Kato shook his head. Three days was not enough time at all.

Ron sighed. This was the… third shop in as many hours. He wished he could leave… but Roxanne told them, that if they went into the city to travel into groups. It made sense, and Ron was going to abide by it… but sometimes, dealing with Lauren, it wasn't fun. Suddenly, Lauren started to stare at something across the street.

"Hey Ron, does that guy look familiar to you?"

"Hey Gavin." Gavin turned around to respond to Kato's question.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"See those two kids right there, standing on the corner opposite ours?" Kato discreetly motioned in the direction he was referring to. Gavin searched the corner, and saw them.

"What about them?" Kato squinted his eyes.

"Those are the kids that stopped me from getting Birch."

"Yeah…. Yeah he does." Ron stared at the two people Lauren was talking about. He was trying to place the recognition, and finally it clicked. One of them was the Team Aqua commander! He had escaped without his comrades. "What is he doing here?" He hissed the rhetorical question at Lauren.

"I don't know." She muttered back. As the two trainers were staring at the Team Aqua members, they started to stare back.

"C'mon, we have to go tell Roxanne!" Ron turned and started to walk down the sidewalk, weaving through people. Lauren followed close behind him. They stole quick glances at the enemy as the walked. They were still staring.

As Kato stared at them, one of them, the boy, made eye contact with him. They stared each other down for several seconds, before he muttered something to the girl. As they started to walk away, Kato said to Gavin,

"They're going to tell the Gym Leader. Tell everyone we need to move fast. We still have the element of surprise; they don't know how many people we have. Let's go." The two Aqua members started to walk away, back towards their hotels and their companions.

"Roxanne!" Ron shouted as he burst into the Rustboro gym. Roxanne was standing in the middle, training her Pokemon, when she was interrupted by Ron.

"What is it?" At first she was annoyed, but when she saw the concerned look on his face, she grew serious.

"Team Aqua! In the city."

"Hold on just a second." Roxanne said incredulously. "In the city? How did you know it was them?"

"It was the same guy who ambushed us on the road a week ago. Lauren and I both know it's him." Lauren frantically nodded in agreement. Roxanne looked between the two of them while making up her mind. After a few seconds of deliberation, she made her decision.

"Alright. I'll get the Gym Members. You guys stay out of this, alright? They wouldn't come to Rustboro without a good reason, and certainly not without more members. This is dangerous; too dangerous for you guys."

"But we can help!" Ron started to protest, but Roxanne cut him off sharply.

"No buts! I know you guys are capable trainers, but this is serious!" She recalled her Kabutops, and set off out of the gym. "Stay in the gym, and don't leave. This is going to be big."


	9. No Way Out

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this, I got bored and suffered a massive case of writer's block. In any case, I have fresh ideas and motivation, so let's get started again, eh?**

No Way Out

"Alright! Listen up!" Roxanne bellowed to her collected forces. At least 20 Rustboro Gym members listened with rapt attention. Some were strapping on armor, or Pokeballs, or eating, or just getting ready in their own way. "We have word that a Team Aqua force is in Rustboro. We also know, that they're going to go after Birch. Even though he's holed up in Devon Corp. they could still break through and get to him; but that's where we come in. We're going to help Devon Corp. defend their building and their scientist. We can't let them get to him or his plans. Any questions?" One Gym member raised his hand. "What?" Roxanne pointed at him.

"Why are we mobilizing now? Can't we just wait until they strike?"

"The problem with that, is they know we know they're hear. They're going to move fast, so we need to be faster. Alright, we're moving out in five!" They all started to hustle even faster.

However, not even two minutes later, a resounding boom sounded through the Gym. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and looked at each other, confused expressions on their faces. Some of them were former Rangers, and had seen combat in the Regional War thirteen years prior*.

"C'mon! Team Aqua is attacking! Move it!" One of them, a grizzled veteran, shouted. "Let's go!" The entire force of Gym members, 22 in strength, trooped out of the door and started heading off down the street, Roxanne in the lead.

The sight that greeted them was chaos. People were panicking in the streets, and in the distance they could see Pokémon advancing towards the Devon Building.

"C'mon!" Roxanne shouted. She released all three of her Pokémon. "Let's move it!" She started to sprint towards the building. All her comrades followed suit by releasing their Pokémon as well. Suddenly, the space was filled with Gravelers and Geodudes and Linoones and Nosepass and Rhydon, and even an Onix lumbered through.

The Rustboro force started to run down the street, weaving their way through the panicked civilians. Most of them had the common sense to get out of the way of the good guys, but some of the more hysterical ones had to be forcibly removed from the path.

* * *

"Kato sir! Look!" Kato turned around from watching the battle in the courtyard between his boys and the security force, to see a large group of people and Pokémon advancing towards them.

"Is that…" Kato muttered to himself.

"Roxanne, sir? Yes it is." Kato nodded. He turned back, to notice his boys had killed all of the guards, and were busy breaching the doors to get in. He looked around for a certain few, and when he saw them his face lit up in a smile.

"Hey! Twins!" They ran over. "You still have your fishies?" He pointed at the approaching Rustboro gym force and smirked. The two identical Team Aqua members smiled grimly and nodded in unison. "Hold 'em off please."

"With pleasure." One of them darkly said. His face contorted in a dark mockery of a smile. He had a scar running down his cheek, and that made the sight even worse.

* * *

Roxanne reached the Devon Corp. building first, and she first noticed that A.) It was devoid of living things, and B.) Why was no one there? The bodies of the security guards and their Pokémon littered the courtyard, but other than that there was nothing. The rest of her force fell in behind her, spreading out around the courtyard. Roxanne started towards the doors, which were splattered in blood. But before she moved three feet, an earth shattering bellow called out through the courtyard. The sound was enough to stagger Roxanne, and suddenly a massive Gyarados burst out through the doors, bellowing a challenge towards the assembled force.

The trainer's Pokémon were staggered for a split second, but that's all it took. The Gyarados let loose with a powerful Hyper Beam, which engulfed half the Pokémon and trainers. It exploded, scattering everyone. Some of the more powerful Pokémon, such as Roxanne's Pokémon and the massive Onix, withstood the blast, and charged at the enormous sea serpent.

The Rhydon lowered its horn and sprinted at the Gyarados. Its horn pierced through the thick hide of the Pokémon, which bellowed in pain. It reared its head up to build up force to bite the Rhydon, but the Onix slammed into it just in time, wrapping its jaws around the Gyarados' neck. The two gargantuan Pokémon started to duel in the courtyard, each one striving to get the upper hand on the other. Suddenly, another roar sounded out, and another Gyarados burst through the outer wall of the courtyard. Roxanne's Pokémon charged at the Gyarados, and started to engage the massive beast.

The Kabutops bounded forward with tremendous speed, and crawled up the side of the massive serpent Pokémon. It tried to shake it off, but Kabutops held on doggedly and kept climbing. The Golem rolled up its arms, and engaged with a Rollout attack. It smashed into the enemy Gyarados with massive force, sending it reeling. The Gyarados retaliated by shooting a Hyper Beam at Golem. It struck Golem square on it, shooting it backward. The rocky Pokémon barely withstood the tremendous assault. It tried to stand up, but collapsed unconscious.

Roxanne stood up weakly, just as her compatriots started to order their Pokémon to fight back. The two Gyarados were starting to be slowly swarmed by the assault of Pokémon . Even though the gigantic serpents put up a tremendous fight, they were eventually overwhelmed.

The Onix killed one of the Gyarados by chomping down on its neck and twisting. The Rock Snake broke the massive serpents neck. It crashed to the ground with a massive thud, sending dirt and dust around the courtyard.

The large group of Gym Pokémon overwhelmed the other Gyarados. Roxanne's Kabutops sliced away at the massive sea serpent's neck, while the other Pokémon hammered away at it with various forms of attack. Eventually, it fell, dead.

Roxanne and her group of trainers gathered themselves and their composure. The twin Gyarados has caused a large dent in her small force. She had started this fight with 20 loyal trainers, and now 4 lay dead in the courtyard, along with several Pokémon. Roxanne turned away from looking at her force, and stared at the Devon Corp. building. She grimaced, and knew they were in for a long fight ahead of them.

* * *

"Ugh! I hate just sitting here!" Jack whined, pacing back and forth in the crew's guest room. Zippo, whom Ron had let out of his ball, huffed in an agreeing fashion. Cinder and Xylem sat near each other, fast asleep. Lauren was sitting on her bed, reading a tourist's guide to Rustboro. Ron was lying down in his bed, absent-mindedly staring at the ceiling.

"Don't worry about it Jack." Lauren said. "Just think. If we were out there, fighting Team Aqua, we could get hurt… or even killed!" She glanced at Jack with a worried expression, but he failed to notice. "I wouldn't want that to happen…" She trailed off, staring at the floor. Jack humphed.

"I know, but still! Why do we have to sit here! We can help! We can-" He was cut off by the sound of large pounding, coming from the main foyer of the Gym. Everyone listened intensely to the sounds. The Pokémon shot up, and started to growl. All three trainers looked at each other, and without another word they took off towards the lobby, their Pokémon racing ahead.

When they got there, there was still thudding on the locked doors. They heard muffled voices behind them, and they sounded angry. The three young trainers knew it wasn't any of Roxanne's trainers. Each of their respective Pokémon took a position in front of their trainer. From behind the door, the distinctive noise of a Pokeball being opened, and muffled roar sounded behind the door. The three teenagers grimaced and got ready.


End file.
